Vehicles
Vehicles in the Wooden Railway and Wood ranges are made up of the following parts. Chassis The chassis is the base frame of each vehicle, where the axles and wheels are connected. They have been made in the following styles: *Two wheels (2011-2017 Flynn's trailer only) *Four wheels (small) *Four wheels (regular) *Six wheels *Eight wheels (two bogies) Changes *'1993': Chassis initially contained stapled bottoms, likely due to the practice being simpler and more cost-effective at the time. *'1994': Stapled chassis were phased out this year in favor of non-stapled chassis. However, due to a surplus, a few vehicles from 1994 still contain stapled chassis. *'1999': Vehicles that were new for this year received names on their chassis in a "Western" font, whereas other vehicles did not receive them until 2001. *'2001': All vehicles received names printed on their chassis. *'2002': Names printed on the chassis were redesigned to a more bold appearance. *'2013': Engines with multiple bogies had their chassis constructed of plastic instead of wood in order to cut production costs. This made vehicles slightly lighter in weight. Magnets became directly embedded, with single bogie characters utilizing a plastic strip placed in the top of the chassis, which had grooves cut in order to hold it. This made vehicles slightly lighter in weight as well. *'2017': New vehicles with multiple bogie received partially wooden chassis, with only the tops being plastic. Tender chassis were slightly shrunk down. *'2018': As part of Thomas Wood's new style, chassis are unpainted, with names engraved into them in a smaller font. Vehicles with plastic chassis remain painted, and names remain printed. Chassis with multiple bogies are no longer produced. All characters have the same set length with either four or six wheels. Tender chassis remain the same length as seen in 2017. From mid 2018, some chassis have two metal pins embedded in them. *'2019': Chassis are once again painted as part of the change in Thomas Wood's style. Tender chassis are part of the tender body and are slightly longer than before. Trivia *Every chassis produced has been black, with the exceptions of Terence (orange), the Sodor Railway Repair (yellow), Rocky (dark red), Peter Sam in Peter Sam's Dynamite Delivery (blue), and Stephen's Coaches (gold). The 2018 Wood line saw most chassis unpainted, but they were changed back to painted in 2019. Funnels Funnels are the structures mounted on top of a steam engine's smokebox. They are designed as exhaust release points for the smoke to escape as to avoid a buildup of pressure. Changes *'1993': Simple wooden stubs. *'1997': Funnels for most engines are made out of plastic. All funnels are rounded. *'1999': Funnels are realistic and made out of molded plastic. The 2000 Lady has a rubber funnel. *'2017': Funnels are more rounded. Gallery Oliverfunnel.jpg|1993-1996 funnel example Kk.PNG|1997-1998 funnel example James Funnel.jpg|1999-2016 funnel example ThomasWoodFunnel.jpg|2017-present funnel example Magnets Magnets are used to couple vehicles together. Most magnets are polar, making it impossible for engines to go "front to front." Changes *'1993': Magnets are flat and slightly rounded at the top. Because of this, vehicles could potentially uncouple prematurely. *'1994': Entirely flat. *'1994': Magnets are convex. Because of this, they do not uncouple as easily. *'1999': Magnets are made more compact and somewhat stronger. *'2013': Magnets are now slightly less dense and are embedded into a plastic strip mounting them to the chassis. This makes them appear smaller than other designs when viewed from the side. Later 2013-2014 have a ledge above the magnet casing. Trivia *Mighty Mac is the only vehicle to have bipolar magnets. Wheels Wheels are used to move vehicles. Changes *'1993': Wheels are thin, and rough, exhibiting lack of molds made directly out of usage experience. They feature codes on them depicting the year the vehicle was made. *'1994': Wheels are molded thin as per prior specifications. They now feature the year the vehicle was made. *'1997': Wheels become wider so they can stay on the track with ease. All vehicles made after 2003 are dated as 2003. From 2013, all vehicles are dated as 2012. The years on vehicles produced after 2003 can be identified using the digit at the end of the first set of numbers in the batch code stamped on the chassis. This number corresponds with the last digit in the year of production. *'2015': Wheels now feature an inner lip. Trivia *The font used in "© GULLANE (THOMAS) LIMITED 2003" is Trajan Pro Regular. Category:Miscellaneous